Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) says it has received approval from Peru’s environmental agency to increase the Constancia mill throughput by another 10%.
In a statement on Thursday, the copper miner confirmed that the National Environmental Certification Service for Sustainable Investments (SENACE) has issued an amended permit to the company that allows it to increase the Constancia mill’s processing capacity from 31 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 34 mtpa.
This represents the fifth amendment to the Constancia environmental permit, following further optimization of the mine plan, an extended operational life and the addition of new infrastructure, Hudbay said.
The most recent amendment came in March 2026, when Hudbay received permit approval to increase the mill throughput to 31 mtpa from 29.9 mtpa.
Hudbay said its efforts to increase mill throughput align with the Peru Ministry of Energy and Mines’ regulatory framework, which permits operational flexibility to operate up to 10% above nominal daily capacity. Over the past two years, the company processed 30.3 million and 31.9 million tonnes of ore, respectively.
According to the company, the new permit would enable it to add more capacity — amounting to 34 mtpa along with the flexibility to handle daily increases of up to 10% above permitted levels — further optimizing Constancia’s operations to deliver strong copper production.
The open-pit mine, located in the Andes Mountains of the Cusco Region in southern Peru, has been in operation since 2014. Last year, it produced 85,155 tonnes of copper, along with 74,480 oz. of gold, 2.41 million oz. of silver and 1,282 tonnes of molybdenum.
Hudbay Minerals’ stock fell 2.5% on Thursday, in line with the decline in copper prices. The Toronto-based miner has a market capitalization of C$14.6 billion ($10.3 billion).
